Letters to the Editor, Feb. 1

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2014 file photo, Danny Joe delivers mail in the rain in San Bruno Calif. Political campaign mailings and an increase in holiday package deliveries helped boost U.S. Postal Service revenue at the end of 2014, even as the agency posted a $754 million loss in the final three months of the year. Still, Postmaster General Megan Brennan said that despite continuing losses, the outlook is much brighter than it has been in the past. (AP Photo/Alex Washburn, File)

Photo: Alex Washburn, Associated Press

Regarding “You’ve got mail, just barely” (Editorial, Jan. 29): I was very disappointed in your dismissive editorial about a cherished and vital institution, the U.S. Postal Service. Aside from the fact that millions of us rely on it for magazines, birthday cards, correspondence and financial transactions, it is one of the largest employers in the United States, and the single largest employer of veterans and nonwhite Americans.

What kinds of jobs do you think will be left for high school graduates when the government abandons the post office? Postal carriers are invaluable points of connections for neighborhoods and often serve as first responders. With the growth of online purchasing, we need a postal service more than ever.

Lauren Coodley, Napa

Bernie is real deal

Regarding “Sanders breaks from campaign to meet Obama” (Jan. 28): You can’t have it both ways, guessing who President Obama really wants to follow him. On the one hand, the writer of this article indicates “the president has been evenhanded in his treatment of the candidates,” but then ends with, “increasingly it appears, he sees Clinton as his best hope.”

So where does that come from, if he is being evenhanded? OK, Sen. Bernie Sanders wants single-payer health care, but doesn’t that take Obamacare one step further, to cover all Americans? Furthering Obama’s legacy? He and Sanders voted on Iraq the same way: No invasion.

Not so with Hillary Clinton. She continues to show more hawkish interests for the Middle East, but then says she strives for diplomacy. She wavers back and forth, like many issues. I would say the president and Sanders share something else: No ethical baggage. You cannot say this about Clinton. This is why I believe Sanders is the better torchbearer for carrying the Obama legacy; on climate change, inequality/Wall Street and having a moral compass.

Priscilla Rich, Danville

Homeless haven

Regarding “Tent dwellers aren’t flocking to options” (Jan. 28): C.W. Nevius’ report on one homeless person (a 21-year-old man) confirms something the citizens of San Francisco have been saying for years, and denied by the government and homeless advocates.

That is, the generosity and forbearance of the local charities along with the city government, encourage the influx of street people to come here. Rather than solving the problem, the homeless are treated as guests with free food, clothing, medical care, tents and housing. Why wouldn’t anyone down on his/her luck not make their way here? The blatant confession of the young man that he just likes getting high and came here for the benefits is a real indication of the long-term failure of the city and the various homeless programs to deal with the situation.

Now, to keep the Embarcadero clear for Super Bowl City, there will be a second Navigation Center to which homeless individuals will be shuttled (free) back and forth to their favorite panhandling spots on the streets. Show me solution!

Andi Ibarra, San Francisco

Bay is at stake

Thank you for running former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan’s “Let’s render good map for state’s water future” (Open Forum, Jan. 29) concerning the proposed delta tunnels. Her last sentence is the most important: “Destroying the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary with the delta tunnels project would be a big mistake.” San Francisco Bay is already in a state of ecological crisis because clean freshwater flows from the Sacramento River have been cut in half over the past 50 years from state and federal water diversions south.

The two proposed 40-foot-diameter, 35-mile-long delta tunnels would have the capacity to divert most of the remaining freshwater flows from the Sacramento River — bypassing the bay — and would result in the bay becoming a stagnant and smelly remnant. This $67 billion project would take 20 years to bring on line and would suck up all the funding necessary for nimble 21st century projects such as municipal storm water catchment, fixing the immense leaks in city and regional water conveyance systems and repairing delta levees.

John Hooper, San Francisco

Consolidate power

Regarding “Simplify system” (Letters, Jan. 20): I could not agree more wholeheartedly with the letter noting the inadequacies of local governments in dealing with regional issues such as population growth and density, traffic flow and transportation, and the like.

For some years, I have been trying to get a discussion started about this issue here in Contra Costa County, where once discrete entities such as Lafayette, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill have grown and expanded to merge into a single vast (or half-vast) urban/metropolitan area. It would be much more effective, efficient and sensible to be governed by a single body, perhaps comprising one or two locally elected representatives from each of the constituent communities.

The result would be a reduction in the number of council members from the 40-odd we have now to a dozen or fewer. Think of the money we could save by eliminating all those salaries.

Add to that the salaries of members’ staffs, people who make appointments, answer phones, research and craft proposals, and we’re talking about real money. Similarly, we could consolidate the several police departments we now have into a single force. Hey, it’s working for firefighters, who are under county-wide administration.